Saturday, February 21, 2009

I'm writing a cookbook! I already said that, didn't I? You'll have to forgive me. I don't think it's all completely sunk in yet, even though I've been working on it every day for the past couple of months (which have flown by way too quickly). I'm still getting used to the idea that I have an agent.

Anyway, the book is all about making the most of your seasonal bounty, whether it comes from your garden, a CSA subscription, the farmers' market, pick-your-own farms, or is dropped off on your doorstep by an undercover, overburdened neighbor when you're not at home. It's going to be published in spring 2010 and will cover canning, freezing, drying, and storing, along with my favorite ways to savor everything fresh—all using my Less Fuss, More Flavor methods and recipes. Of course there'll be plenty of growing tips and gardening talk, too.

So what I'm going to do is start posting random questions, hopefully every day or two, over on my kitchen garden blog. They'll vary from wide open to quite specific, and will be for both gardeners and non-gardening foodies. Short replies, longwinded answers, and links to your own blog posts about the subject in question will all be welcome in the comments section of each post.

Thanks in advance for your help with this, and a huge thanks to all of you for the amazing support you've given me and Farmgirl Fare since I created it nearly four years ago. You've changed my life in so many ways and mean more to me than I can say. Thank you.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

It starts on Friday! Bird and nature fans throughout North America are invited to join tens of thousands of bird watchers for the 12th annual Great Backyard Bird Count which will take place February 13-16, 2009.

A joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, this free event is an opportunity for families, students, and people of all ages to discover the wonders of nature in backyards, schoolyards, and local parks, and, at the same time, make an important contribution to conservation.

“Anyone who can identify even a few species can contribute to the body of knowledge that is used to inform conservation efforts to protect birds and biodiversity,” said Audubon Education Vice-President, Judy Braus.

Volunteers take part by counting birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the event and reporting their sightings online at birdcount.org. The data help researchers understand bird population trends across the continent, information that is critical for effective conservation. In 2008, participants submitted more than 85,000 checklists, a new record. How cool is that?

Plans foiled—thanks to me and mighty Marta, the dog who refuses to be contained unless she's in an electric fence (and even if the 'containment' is in a 16-acre field), but as soon as we realized she wasn't escaping in order to run off (which she had done in the past) we quickly came to love that aspect of her personality.